Swervedriver Bringing New Material To Outer Space

Giles Borg

Swervedriver performs in Hamden on March 26.

Swervedriver performs in Hamden on March 26. (Giles Borg)

ED CONDRANSpecial To The Courant

Reconstituted Swervedriver at the Ballroom

It felt like 1991 all over again last week at South By Southwest. The terrific documentary, "Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck," hit Austin screens. Flannel-sporting and grunge-influenced next big thing Courtney Barnett, who stole SXSW, played an array of dates at various venues in the capital of Texas.

And then there was the distortion and feedback during Swervedriver's very loud set at Red 7. There was something comforting and familiar about the wall of reverb as Swervedriver delivered such classics as "Rave Down" and "Son of Mustang Ford."

The vibe wasn't very different when Swervedriver, who will perform Thursday, March 26, at the Ballroom at Outer Space, showcased songs from "I Wasn't Born to Lose You," its first album in 16 years. The fresh material has plenty of that detached, trippy and dreamy feel but the project also possesses some modern elements.

"We're in the year 2015 but we still go back to what Swervedriver does," guitarist Jimmy Hartridge said during a chat from Austin. "We added some new things to our music. We've updated it but we're still old school in many ways."

Hartridge and his bandmates, which includes vocalist-guitarist Adam Franklin, bassist Steve George (Supergrass bassist Mick Quinn filled in during the band's week in Austin) and drummer Mikey Jones, are so old school that during SXSW, the band searched for a library. Forget about a Kindle or an iPad, the band searched for something tangible to read and it was looking for a break from the endless distractions, which are synonymous with the excesses of South By Southwest, which is essentially spring break for the music industry.

"It's a great time here but it's good to focus," Hartridge said. "Everyone is drinking and walking around in their cool rock T-shirts."

My Bloody Valentine shirts were sported by many young musicians. The T-shirts aren't quite as ubiquitous as CBGBs tanks are at the mall. But it's a reminder that Swervedriver is a MBV contemporary but didn't quite score the acclaim as their eccentric peers.

"It's true," Hartridge said. "We came out at about the same time as they did and made similar music but things happened differently for them. That's all right. Both bands are back out there and we're very happy."

Swervedriver and MBV each took a long hiatus and now each act is back with new music. After releasing "99th Dream" in 1998, Swervedriver took a 10-year break. In 2008, the band reunited and toured behind its first four albums.

"But we needed to come up with some new material," Hartridge said. "It's more fun playing new numbers than just playing the old songs. We love playing the old songs, but we really like to mix it up."

Hartridge believes the band will craft a new album sooner than later. "I don't see any reason why we shouldn't do something new at some point," Hartridge said. "This album really gave us a spark. We would like to do more with each other. But the best thing that we could have done is take a break when we did. We just survived the '90s. That was a great era. We and other bands like us, were pushing boundaries. That's what I would like to do now, push some boundaries by making challenging, provocative music. This band can still do that."

SWERVEDRIVERappears Thursday at the Ballroom at Outer Space, 295 Treadwell St., Hamden. Tickets are $20. Show time is 8 p.m. For more information, call 203-288-6400, theouterspace.net